Maier awarded silver Fritz Walter medal

For the 14th consecutive year, the DFB have recognised the biggest talents from the previous season, and our very own Arne Maier is in the mix.

Berlin – Arne Maier is the winner of a very prestigious honour. On September 9th, the DFB will award the Hertha youth product with the silver Fritz Walter Medal for the U19s category. It’s the second time that the midfielder’s talent has been recognised in such a way, as he won the bronze medal for the U17s age group in 2016. “The Fritz Walter Medal has established itself as the most prestigious individual award in German youth football,” said Joti Chatzialexiou, the DFB’s sports chief. “The winners have extraordinary quality, huge sporting ambition and also excel off the pitch thanks to their team spirit and professional behaviour. For us, it’s important that these talented players are motivated by the medal – their goal has to be constant development so they eventually play for the senior national team.”

Maier was only beaten to gold by friend Kai Havertz of Bayern Leverkusen, while the bronze medal went to Manuel Wintzheimer from Hamburger SV (formely of Bayern Munich). Maier will receive the medal at the start of September, in the afternoon on the day of Germany’s friendly against Peru. The DFB will honour the work of the academies that helped to produce the medal winners, with all of the amateur teams receiving a portion of the following prize money: 20,000 euros for gold, 15,000 for silver and 10,000 for bronze. Toni Kroos (2008) and Timo Werner (2013) are two of the most renown winners from recent years.